How to Say "Best By" in Spanish

consumir preferentemente antes del

/konsumiɾ pɾefeɾentemente antes del/from spelling rules

The Spanish phrase for 'best by' is consumir preferentemente antes del.

This phrase is used to indicate a date when a product will begin to lose its peak quality, rather than a strict safety expiration date. You may also see consumir antes de (consume before) or se recomienda consumir antes de (it is recommended to consume before) used in similar contexts.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase consumir preferentemente antes del literally translates to 'preferably consume before the'.

Which one should you use?

While consumir preferentemente antes del refers to the period of peak quality, fecha de caducidad refers to a strict expiration date after which a product may become unsafe to eat.

Is it said differently in some regions?

In Mexico, fecha de vencimiento is a commonly used phrase for 'best by'. In Spain, you may hear fecha de consumo preferente for 'best by' and in Argentina, fecha de caducidad is commonly used to convey the same meaning.

How does it change in a sentence?

If the date following the phrase does not start with a masculine article (for example, if it is not 'el 15 de mayo'), you should use consumir preferentemente antes de instead.

How do you pronounce it?

/konsumiɾ pɾefeɾentemente antes del/

Did you know?

The suffix -mente in preferentemente is derived from the Latin word for 'mind', 'mēns'.
While English uses the adjective 'best' to describe the quality, Spanish uses the adverb 'preferentemente' to describe how the consumer should act.
The word antes shares its deep roots with the English word 'ante', as seen in 'ante bellum', both stemming from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'before' or 'in front of'.

Examples in context

Quisiera saber hasta cuándo se puede consumir este queso.
I would like to know until when this cheese can be consumed.
Consumir preferentemente antes del 15 de mayo.
Best by May 15th.
Dice consumir preferentemente antes del mes que viene.
It says best by next month.

Example conversation

María and Mateo are checking the expiration date on a milk carton in the kitchen.

María

¿Está buena esta leche, Mateo?
Is this milk good, Mateo?
Mateo

Sí, dice consumir preferentemente antes del lunes.
Yes, it says best by Monday.
María

Perfecto, todavía podemos usarla.
Perfect, we can still use it.
Mateo

Todavía falta mucho para esa fecha.
There is still a long time until that date.

Sources

IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries antes, consumir, del, preferentemente, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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How to Say “Best By” in Spanish